A Kiss for My Valentine
by Lady Ayme
Summary: Something sappy for Valentine's Day. England finds little gifts left around his house and wonders what they're for.


A Kiss for My Valentine

_Dunno if anything like this has been done before, but I wanted to try writing something sappy. Posting a little early in case I don't have the chance to later. -cringes at midterms-  
><em>

_This was meant to be an epilogue of sorts to Suite Dreams, but since I'm nowhere near done with that it'll have to do as a standalone._

_This isn't beta'd._

* * *

><p>It started when England went to turn off his alarmclock.<p>

Once the sound had ceased he went to habitually look at the time and realized that the 7 of the digital display didn't look right. Was his alarmclock broken? Still half-asleep, he reached over to pick up his clock, only to discover that there was something small and cone-shaped in front of the number; it wasn't actually broken.

Sitting up almost fully, he picked up the little whatever it was and found it was taped to a small piece of red cardstock. Lifting it up in order to read what was written on it, he found "A Kiss for My Valentine" written finely in a darker red than the paper and followed by a little heart.

Moving to sit up completely, England pulled off the little, foiled-wrapped cone and unwrapped it, finding a piece of chocolate inside. He turned it over in his hand before deciding to go ahead and eat it, licking off the little bit of melted chocolate from his fingers before getting up and starting his morning routine.

He found another card taped to his bathroom mirror.

* * *

><p>After grabbing the morning paper England set off for the kitchen for some tea and breakfast. When he went to pull out his favorite teacup for breakfast (It had a sun rising over a flower-filled forest clearing on two sides with a tree pattern wrapping around the rest of the cup. Fairies played in the clearing amongst the flowers, and a unicorn made its way through the trees.) he found in it another piece of red cardstock with the same message "A Kiss for My Valentine" followed by a little heart written on it and a piece of chocolate taped to it.<p>

England set down his favorite teacup and looked over the card curiously. He hadn't really bothered with Valentine's Day in...ever... He never really had anyone to give anything to, and no one had ever bothered to get _him_ something, so he never really bothered to remember it or do anything for it.

Still playing with the card as he lost himself in thought, he took off the little candy and ate it. It took another almost twenty minutes before he realized he still hadn't made his tea and breakfast.

* * *

><p>After finishing the morning paper for the most part and his breakfast and morning tea, England set off to his study to start working on some paperwork he needed to finish for his boss by the end of the week. When he sat down and reached for his pen he found it on top of another piece of cardstock with a piece of foil-wrapped chocolate taped to it.<p>

Starting to wonder where they were coming from – who would break into his home to leave _chocolates_? – and why, he left this piece on the card and tried to work.

He only managed to finish half of what he should have by the time he decided to take a break for lunch.

* * *

><p>Instead of making something like he would usually, England decided that it was nice enough out to head to a nearby little restaurant he liked for something to eat. It's not like he wanted to get away from his work or the weird little cards (that he was starting to hope the fairies were leaving) or anything.<p>

He ordered a sandwich and crisps along with a cup of tea and took his time to enjoy his meal.

Again, not procrastinating on going home or anything...

When the bill came the slip of paper wasn't the only thing he received. Another piece of red cardstock with a candy attached was handed to him along with the tab.

England looked up at his waiter in confusion. "Where did you get this?"

The young brunet smiled a little. "It was left with a note to deliver it to this table."

"So you don't know who wanted me to have it?"

With a slight shrug and shake of his head the waiter moved to head to another table. "Sorry, sir, but I was only given the note and card. I'll be back for the bill when you're ready. Have a Happy Valentine's Day, sir," and he headed to a nearby table where a woman was waving to try and catch his attention.

England looked back down at the candy-card before slowly putting it in his inside coat pocket then paying his bill and leaving.

* * *

><p>On his way back home he passed by the little family-run flowershop he liked to shop at for his garden.<p>

Ms. Green, the main owner still even at eighty-one, was inside behind the main window, watering some of the displays. When she saw him walk by she tapped on the window to grab his attention and waved at him to come inside.

Heading inside, he listened to the old wind chime on the door sound for a moment before greeting the old florist. "Hello, Ms. Green. Is there something I could help you with?" It wasn't uncommon for them to spend an afternoon together talking and tending to the shop.

Ms. Green finished watering the plant she was on and set down the can on a nearby shelf before turning to him fully. "Now how many times have I told you to call me Ellie or at least Eleanor? Really, dear, I say that every time I see you. But I suppose nevermind that. If you haven't changed yet, you're hardly going to now, hmm? Anyway that's not why I wanted you to come in. I have a delivery for you I was going to send Robert out to give you, but since you're here..." She went back behind the counter and pulled out a long, thin box that she brought over to him.

He accepted it a little reluctantly and unwrapped the ribbon around it slowly. Inside was one red rose, one pink rose, and one yellow one, all thornless, and a now too familiar red card attached to them.

'_I really should have seen this coming, shouldn't I...? Though the flowers themselves...'_

"Um..., Ms. Gree–, uh, Eleanor? Who wanted this delivered to me?"

She went back to watering the plants with a knowing smile on her face. "Now why would you think I'd tell you that? I'm hardly going to ruin the surprise. I've never had a delivery like this for you before either for that matter. You know I find it amusing watching you flounder around not knowing what to do or say."

He grumbled and would have crossed his arms if he wasn't still holding the two halves of the box. "You sound like that frog..."

Eleanor chuckled lightly and continued on with her work. "You know I only mean well. I can't say whether it's the same for him or not. It's just good for you to loosen up sometimes though, dear. You can't always be all proper."

"And British?" He smirked and closed the box back up. "Well, I don't know whether to say 'thank you' or not, but I'll be going if you don't need me for anything else, Eleanor. I have work I should be getting back to."

She waved him off with another smile. "No, that's all for today. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ellie."

* * *

><p>When he returned home he should have probably expected the little card and chocolate that sat in the dish by the door he kept his keys, spare change, and other miscellaneous things in.<p>

While he still didn't know what to make of them, he wasn't as apprehensive anymore and picked the latest one up with a little smile and headed into the kitchen. He needed to find a small vase for the roses, though he needed to remember to press them later before they wilted too much.

He set down the box and cards on the counter and went to look for a proper vase. A box was brought back for the growing amount of cards as well, and he placed the ones he'd received so far in it.

As he headed back to his study to start working again he couldn't help the silly little smile on his face.

* * *

><p>In his mail for the day. Taped to the tin of sweets he sometimes snuck out even if there was no one but his magical friends to see. Sitting beside the television remote. Laying on top of the tea he liked to have in the afternoon. Hidden in the folds of his evening paper. Taped to the handset of his phone. All in all he ended up finding thirteen cards, all with a little cone-shaped chocolate taped to them and the same "A Kiss for My Valentine" and heart on them.<p>

By dinnertime England felt a little ridiculous at how happy he felt, even though he still wasn't quite sure what to think of someone sneaking around in his home and following him to places he frequented, even if what they were doing was one of the sweetest gestures towards him he could remember happening in a long, long while.

As he went to make himself something to eat he found what must have been the last one, the fourteenth one.

On his stove was one of the biggest chocolates he'd ever seen. It was big enough to fit in both of his hands and was the same shape as the others and had another red card with that same message tied to it. He picked the already partially unwrapped chocolate up a little hesitantly only to find that it seemed lighter than he thought something of that size should be.

"Happy Valentine's Day, England," an energetic and familiar if slightly more controlled than usual voice spoke up from behind him, surprising him enough that he screamed and ended up dropping the large chocolate back onto the stove. It cracked along one side, and he realized that the inside was hollow and full of the same kind of little chocolates from the rest of the cards.

England spun around and found America standing not too far away from him near the kitchen doorway, smiling at him and looking like he couldn't stay still. "A-America, what are you–how did you get in my house?"

The younger man took a couple of steps further into the room and chuckled. "Under a flowerpot on your porch? You should think of a far less cliche place to hide your spare key, England, even if I had to look under at least ten different ones to find it. At least there was nothing in them at this time of year," he added thoughtfully before moving a couple more steps towards England.

The other blond fumbled a bit before stuttering out a response. "I-idiot! Just because you found it doesn't mean you should use it! Wait... You _were_ the one who left me all of those cards and chocolates then, weren't you?"

He laughed and looked the slightest bit confused. "Who did you think was leaving Kisses for you?"

England blushed and looked away for a moment, playing with the cuff of one sleeve. "I...I don't know. I had...hoped that it was you though..."

America smiled fully again and took the few steps left to leave him in front of England. "So you liked my Valentine's gift? It took a little time and work to find out about the restaurant and the flowershop and to place all of the cards, but nothing an awesome and romantic hero like me can't handle."

The older man looked back at him. "So you stalked me to find out the places I frequent?"

The self-proclaimed "hero" floundered and flailed a bit. "Stalk? No! No. Well..., sort of..., but not in a creepy way! I mean, I–"

England chuckled at being able to ruffle the other man's feathers. "Relax, America. It was sweet...if a little creepy..."

America pouted. "I didn't mean to be creepy. I just wanted to do something special for our first Valentine's Day together. I guess I screwed up... I'm not exactly used to doing something like this though you know! So...so I just...you just... I mean, I thought about showering you in roses. It's both our national flower, and I know you like them, and I was reading up online about them. That's why I picked the ones I did, because I read they meant joy, happiness, excitement, love at first sight – even if I didn't know it at the time when I first saw you – and the pink one was because of your smile. And I didn't know how many to give you. Three for 'I love you,' or ten for 'You're perfect,' or eleven for 'being my treasured one,' or twenty-four for 'Forever yours,' or ninety-nine for 'I'll love you for the rest of my life,' or nine hundred and ninety-nine for 'I'll love you until the end of time,' and I just–" He was starting to ramble as he grew more and more flustered.

England broke in so the younger man could at least take a breath. "America. America... Calm down. Like I said, it was sweet of you to go out of your way to do something like this for me, but...it's not like I'm used to receiving this kind of attention and...level of affection you know... But what did you call these? 'Kisses?'" He picked up one of the chocolates from inside the large one.

America fiddled with the zipper on his bomber jacket that he'd decided to wear. "Yeah, they're Hershey's Kisses. I thought it was a good idea..."

Another silly little grin appeared on England's face at how adorably awkward America was being. "Well... How do I repay you for such a thoughtful...," and he was going to say "if a little creepy" again just to tease the other but thought better of it, "gesture?"

America was perking back up to his usual enthusiastic level since he wasn't being rejected after all. "Oh, I don't know..." His grin turned a bit roguish. "Maybe compensation? Kiss for Kiss?"

England blushed and thought back to how many he'd received, including the huge one at the end that was full of the smaller ones. "I-idiot..." He soon found himself with America's arms wrapped lightly around his waist and himself leaning back slightly against the stove he was still standing in front of.

"Come on, England, do you have any kisses for me?"

England's blush deepened, and he squirmed a little in the others embrace. "I don't have any chocolate to give you."

America chuckled and leaned in to rest his forehead against England's. "I know you know that's not what I meant. And people say _I_ can't read the atmosphere."

The slightly shorter blond knew they both knew he was just being awkward partially to tease and partially because he just wasn't used to something like the current situation. "It took you years to realize when people said that they weren't referring to a book..."

"Hahah, hey! At least I know better now."

England relaxed a bit further into America's arms and lifted his own and wrapped them around the taller man's waist. "And yet you still can't read the atmosphere most of the time. Or is it you want people to think you can't?"

"And if I said it was a little from Column A and a little from Column B?" America answered with another light laugh.

England laughed as well. "Idiot..."

"I love you too." He leaned in and started the first kiss for their first Valentine's Day together. "Happy Valentine's Day, England."

"Happy Valentine's Day, America."


End file.
